


Magnets

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-12
Updated: 2013-10-12
Packaged: 2017-12-29 04:05:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1000669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And it’s not long after that he gets his second tattoo and it’s a winding script up the inside of his right arm that says “The way I need you is a loneliness I cannot bear”- Carson McCullers. </p>
<p>Harry and Niall have been friends since they were kids and Harry might kind of fall in love with the boy with the flower crowns and sun bleached hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magnets

**Author's Note:**

> This is about punk!Harry and flowerchild!NIall, but not really.

When two magnets meet they either repel because their respective sides are the same polarity or they come together because their polarities are different. According to a lot of people, the same can be said about humans- opposites attract.

Sometimes people don’t start out opposites- sometimes they’re almost exactly the same, and then things change. And not always to the “bad” end of the spectrum...they just do and that’s life and people recognize it and move on and that’s that.

Sometimes the changes happen because something massive happens and you just cannot walk away from them without something changing in you. And sometimes they just happen, for no rhyme or reason, other than life.

***

It’s easy to become friends with someone when you’re little kids because all little kids pick their mothers dandelions and run around barefoot around the park in messy t-shirts they tie-dyed themselves.

So when six year old Niall hands six year old Harry a flower crown his mother helped him make, well, it’s friendship at first hand hold.

“Mummy says that you’re from Ireland...where’s that?” Harry asks innocently as Niall’s clumsy fingers help him tie some flowers into knots in a small circle to fit over his head in the bright sunlight.

“Umm...I dunno, where Dad and Sean are, I guess,” Niall answers, Harry giggles at the lilt in Niall’s voice. “What’s so funny?”

“You talk weird.”

“Yeah, well, you do too!” Niall pouts, crossing his arms across his tiny chest. “Maura says that my voice is beautiful and that one day I’m going to be a singer.” Harry only smiles at Niall and puts on his crown because that’s another thing that’s weird about Niall, his mummy lets him call her by her first name and she doesn’t live with his daddy and she wears long skirts and preaches love and happiness and peace.

And then Niall grins back shyly. “Maybe we’ll be a band together, I’ll sing and play guitar and you can too and we’re going to be the best band ever, even better than the Beatles.” Harry’s mum has only talked about the Beatles a few times and he doesn’t know what their music sounds like, but Niall likes them a lot so Harry figures they must be okay.

***

A year later Harry’s mummy and daddy don’t live together anymore like Niall’s parents and Harry spends a lot of nights over at Niall’s and his mum makes them tie-dye t-shirts and flower crowns and plays the guitar out by the fire she builds in the garden and sings to them and it’s nice. Sometimes Niall holds Harry’s hand and they eat watermelon together and paint pictures with their fingers and sometimes Gemma is there too and Harry wonders if this is Niall’s life all the time.

He meets Louis too who’s older than him and loud and not like Niall at all, but he’s funny and he sticks up for Harry so Harry likes him too.

“We could be the Three Musketeers for Halloween!” Louis shouts happily, “brandishing” his toy sword.

“Niall doesn’t celebrate Halloween,” Harry explains, keeping his voice down because the last time Niall asked about it was the only time Harry had ever seen Maura stern.

“Well then, we could just go together,” Louis suggests.

“No, Niall is my bestest friend ever. I’m going to his house and we’re making shirts like we do every time I go over,” Harry puts his proverbial foot down and that’s that.

***

When Harry is fourteen Niall tells him that he’s pansexual.

“Does that mean you like kitchenwares?” Harry questions and hey, he doesn’t judge- but that would be a bit strange.

“No!” Niall laughs and looks up at the ceiling. “It means that I just see people when I look around. Like, I understand that gender is important and all, but it doesn’t affect my ability to fall in love with them.” His hair is bleached from the sun and his t-shirt is dyed pink and white and not for the first time Harry thinks Niall looks really beautiful like that.

“I think I might be gay,” Harry whispers and Niall grins at him and covers Harry’s hand with his own and everything’s okay.

Later they go up on Niall’s roof outside his window and he plays guitar kinda slowly because he’s still learning and Harry hums along and it’s nice. It’s always really nice.

***  
“I’m going to Ireland for a year,” Niall tells Harry and he takes a deep breath and Harry bites his lip and feels his stomach fall out of his body.

“Why?”

“Apparently Bobby wants to see me,” Niall shrugs and he doesn’t get mad often because that’s not what Maura taught him, but Harry can see in Niall’s cerulean eyes and the set of his jaw that he’s upset about it. Maura told Niall when he turned thirteen that she had gotten pregnant when they were in an open relationship and that everything was okay, but their ideals no longer matched up and she and Bobby were on cordial terms. However, prior to the beginning of their junior year in high school Bobby called and he wanted to meet his son and NIall wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Are we-” Niall clears his throat. “Are we still going to be okay if I go?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Harry hugs him and they might be sixteen years old and it might be a little awkward but Niall has always been a fan of hugs and Harry is a fan of Niall so it works.

***

When Harry stands in the airport terminal and watches Niall’s plane take off he knows that he’s definitely not straight, even if for just one person.

***

Harry meets Zayn and Liam through Louis and he gets his first tattoo- it’s a little tie-dye shamrock on the palm of his hand just under his fourth finger from his thumb. And it’s not long after that he gets his second tattoo and it’s a winding script up the inside of his right arm that says “The way I need you is a loneliness I cannot bear”- Carson McCullers.

Soon he starts listening to old Fall Out Boy and All Time Low and he dyes his hair and changes his style, loses his virginity.

He finds that he gets along best with Zayn who likes art and has a smoking hot girlfriend, and Liam is pretty cool too once Louis breaks him out of his shell, but there’s still a piece missing- and it’s just too far away in Ireland.

***

His next set of tattoos is a half sleeve that has a dragon in it and a bird and some waves, but the most important part is the top around his elbow- a flower crown of dandelions.

***

When Niall gets back the first thing he does is go see Harry. He’s shocked to say the least, but he’s still Niall- still accepting of all that Harry is. His skin is still pale, unmarked. His palate has still not tasted cheap beer and he still hasn’t even had his first real kiss.

“A lot changed since I left I guess.” Niall gestures to Harry’s tattoos and hair and new gauges in his ears.

Harry looks at him. “Physically, but I’m still Harry.”

“Yeah you are.” Niall smiles tiredly because the flight was a beast and hands Harry a wilted flower crown he made on the plane ride. He falls asleep on Harry’s bed and Harry takes in Niall’s tie-dyed shirt and sun bleached hair and the gentle rise and fall of his stomach and Harry’s pretty sure he’s fucked.

***

Zayn and Liam take an immediate liking to Niall. And you really can’t help but like Niall because he’s literally sunshine in a person (not to mention it’s also his middle name).

“But really, Harry?” Zayn kinda squints between the two of them and Harry answers the same way he answered Louis.

“Niall is my best friend.” and Niall puts his hand over Harry’s and squeezes his fingers and that’s that.

***

Senior year is interesting because one of Harry’s old hook-ups tries to get back with him and suddenly people start wondering why he’s not going to any of the parties anymore and Harry just smiles and shakes his head and says “not tonight.”

He goes to Niall’s and they sit on the roof and Niall plays guitar faster and Harry hums along and sometimes Niall sings and they wear tie-dyed t-shirts and knot together flowers and make fires and it’s nice.

One nice evening when they’re on the roof Harry leans in to kiss Niall and Niall traces his shamrock tattoo on his hand and it works, just like it always has.

So they hold hands again like when they were kids except now sweet kisses are traded when they hold hands and Harry eventually makes love to Niall for his first time and it feels like they're kids again, only this time their hearts pound from love and not races around the park.

***

Magnets only attract if their polarities are different, Harry thinks the same rule applies to people.

**Author's Note:**

> I was super proud of this to be honest...  
> [1D blog](http://twitcamniall.tumblr.com)


End file.
